Improvement in foundations for pavements



PATENT OEEIoE.

SELAH REEVE, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

IMPROVEMENT IN FOUNDATIONS FOR PAVEMENTS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 110,395, dated December 20, 1870.

To all whom t 'may concer-n:

Be it known that I, SELAH REEVE, of the city of Chicago, in the county ot' Cook and State of Illinois, have invented a new and Improved Foundation for Wood Pavements; and I do hereby declare the following` to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawing, forming part of this specification, in which- Figure l is a transverse section of a wood pavement laid `in accordance with my invention, and Fig'. 2 is a top-plan view of the same.

Similar letters of reference in the drawing denote corresponding parts.

This invention relates to that class of wooden pavements in which the sand beneath the blocks is prevented from shifting by means of wooden partitions composed of wedges, strips of plank, or sills of timber arranged in parallel lines, and projecting from the under side ofthe superstructure down into the sand g and it consists in separating the said partitions from the superstructure by means of a thick stratum Vof clean sand, so arranged as to cover the upper edge of the partitions, and present a smooth uniform surface of homogeneous material for the support of the blocks.

In the drawing, A is the solid ground of the road-bed, and B 1 3 are the partitions, composed of strips of boards or planks set edgewise into the road-bed klongitudinally of the same, at any desired distance apart, and parallel to each other.

C is a iine sha-rp sand, packed'iirmly between and above the projecting partitions to the depth of two or three inches over their upper edges, as shown, thus forming a smooth homogeneous surface for the support of the pavement-blocks, and effeetually preventing all contact between them and the wooden partitions.

D D are the blocks, which may be of any desired form, althoughI prefer the form shown in the drawing at E F.

In the rst form the blocks are beveled upon one side at each end, and are laid with their beveled sides in the same direction, being arranged so that the joints of one row shall be covered by the centers of the blocks in the proximate rows.

By this construction of blocks, spaces g are left between them, which may be filled with sand,tconcrete, or other material used in the construction of wood pavements.

In the second form, F, the blocks are recessed upon one side at each end, and the center of each, upon the opposite side, is provided with a concave or angular recess. These blocks are also laid with like sides in the same direction, so that each row is provided with recesses h alternately upon opposite sides, which may be filled with concrete or other substance.

Between each row of blocks F, thin blocks or strips I are arranged to cover the joints between the blocks F, as shown.

The essential feature of my invention, however, is the separation of the partitions from the body of the pavement above by means of the layer-of sand, whereby three'important advantages are secured at the same time, viz: first, a uniform surface of sand to support the blocks, so that they will wear evenly at all points; secondly, preventing the shifting of the sand so far as practicable or necessary; and, thirdly, preventing the decay that always results from the contact of wood surfaces buried in sand or earth where they are exposed to the action of moisture.

I am aware of the patents granted to Stow for a pavement in which the sand is prevented from shifting by means of wedges driven down between the blocks, and also of the patent granted May 3l, 1870, to Brocklebank and Tubbs, for a pavement in which the blocks rest partially upon'wooden sills, the spaces between which are filled with sand. Neither of these contains my invention, nor possesses the peculiar advantages resulting from it, and I make no claim to any arrangement of the blocks and partitions shown in them, but simply to my improvements thereupon.

Vhat I do claim as my invention is- The described combination and arrangement of the paving-blocks, partitions, and packing-sand, when the latter not only lls the spaces between the partitions, but extends above their upper edge, so as to form a uniform surface of sand for the support of the blocks, substantially as herein set forth.

SELAH REEVE. 

